Abigail Dean

Abigail Dean is represented by Juliet Mushens

Credit: Lara Downie

 

Abigail Dean was born in Manchester and grew up in the Peak District.  She studied English Literature at Cambridge University, and has worked as a bookseller at Waterstones and a lawyer at Google. Her writing has appeared in the Observer, the Times, and the New York Times. She lives in south London with her husband, children and cat.

Abigail’s debut novel Girl A was a New York Times and Sunday Times Bestseller. A television series is in development with Sony. Abigail's second novel, Day One, was a Richard & Judy Bookclub pick.

Abigail's third novel is The Death of Us. Acclaimed by Stephen King, Monica Ali and Mick Herron, it is a love story interrupted by a single, terrible night of violence. Film rights have sold at auction. The Independent has called Abigail "one of our sharpest contemporary thriller writers". She was one of the Observer's best new novelists in 2021, and was shortlisted for the Women's Prize x Good Housekeeping Futures Award in 2022. Her work has been translated into over 30 languages.

Praise for Girl A:

'It is rare for a novel to be so deft yet devastating. A story of terrible control but also irresistible humanity, Girl A is a portrait of survival, intelligence and love, and it will stay with me for a long time. A book of deep feeling, and an astonishing achievement.' JESSIE BURTON, no. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of THE MINIATURIST, THE MUSE and THE CONFESSION


‘Girl A isn’t just an astonishingly accomplished debut novel, it’s a masterpiece. With its haunting prose and devastatingly complicated characters, this book asks the reader, in visceral, heartbreaking detail, what we would do to survive. Lex’s story will stay with me for a very long time.’ LOUISE O’NEILL

‘Terrifyingly gripping.’ SUSIE STEINER

‘Gripping, beautifully written perfection.’ SOPHIE HANNAH

‘Girl A is truly my idea of the perfect book: gripping and beautifully written, with complex (and often chilling) characters that are fully realised, and hard to forget. I'll be thinking about this for a long, long time, so… Believe the hype – it really is that good.’ KATIE LOWE

 

‘Books like GIRL A don’t come along often; it gives you no option but to put your entire life on pause. Abigail Dean is an astonishing new talent and has written a searing, gripping tale of love, loss and survival that exposes the bare bones of humanity and explores how victims cope long after the headlines stop rolling. One of the most compelling novels I’ve read in a long time.’ STACEY HALLS, Sunday Times bestselling author of THE FAMILIARS and THE FOUNDLING

Rights sold:

Girl A: HarperCollins (UK), Viking (US), Dritan (Albania), Verus (Brazil), Riva (Bulgaria), Sonatina (Croatia), Alpress (Czech), Gads (Denmark), Rahva Raamat (Estonia), Aula & Co (Finland), Lattes (France), HarperCollins (Germany), Psichogios (Greece), Libri Könyvkiadó (Hungary), Útgáfan (Iceland), Kinneret (Israel), Einaudi (Italy), Hayakawa (Japan), ABC (Latvia), Alma Littera (Lithuania), HarperCollins (Netherlands), Gursli Berg (Norway), Proszynski Media (Poland), Presenca (Portugal), S.C. Crime Scene Press (Romania), AST (Russia), Vulkan (Serbia), Slovart (Slovakia), Zalozba (Slovenia), Ediciones B (Spain), Forum (Sweden), Locus (Taiwan), Epsilon (Turkey), Family Leisure Club (Ukraine), and Sony (TV).

Day One: HarperCollins (UK), Viking (US), Lattes (France), Psichogios (Greece), Einaudi (Italy), Kinneret (Israel), HarperCollins NL (Netherlands), Gursli-Berg (Norway), Crime Scene Press (Romania) and Ucila (Slovenia).

The Death of Us: HarperCollins (UK), Viking (US), Niko Aula (Finland), Lattes (France) and Swiat Ksiazki (Poland).